I have a 6 1/2 year old son who was diagnosed with PDD-NOS 18 mo. ago, but I knew there was something different about him when he turned 4 and started pre-K. I'm just having a hard time right now, and I feel so alone in this. My Husband is less than supportive, and doesn't want to "LABEL" our child. So I'm in this alone for the most part. My son is in one if his difficult "Cycles" as I call them. I don't know if others experience this too, or if I am the only one. I've never talked to anyone who has a child with this disorder before. So I am in the dark, and just knowing that others have children that are the same, and go through the same day to day challenges, would really be a HUGE Blessing! Thanks for your time!Gabe's Mom...

Hi,I have a son who will be 7 in May. He was diagnosed with PDD_NOS when he was 3 and then at 4 1/2 he was diagnosed with high functioning autism. Now he has been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome. I understand everything you are feeling. We are at a difficult point right now with our son. He definitely goes through cycles. We can go through a couple of months and everything seems calm, and then all of a sudden everything falls apart. Then we will have weeks and sometimes months of complete chaos. We have 2 daughters and this is so hard on both of them. They are 10 and 5. My husband has times where he is supportive and then he just gets upset about the situation and says, "There is nothing wrong with Judson, he is just acting out." My husband is going through denial and think some grief. I believe he had expectations of what our only son would be. He wants the son who plays baseball and interacts with others well. He is grieving for the loss of the son we thought we would have. I myself am past the denial, I know our son has autism because he has been diagnosed by several different doctors and specialists. There are times I think it shouldn't have to be this hard, and I find myself asking why. Our son's disability has cut our family off from any type of socialization. I had several friends that I have lost touch with since our son was diagnosed. They have no idea how difficult this is, and how time consuming it can be. You are not alone, there are so many other families going through this, they just may not be in our communities. That is why I finally turned to the internet to find some sort of support. I hope that this helps, it is always such a relief to find someone or just know that there are others going through the same thing.

jpwmom,Thank you so much! From the bottom of my heart I thank you for taking the time to share your story with me. I have felt so Isolated, and my husband does the same thing too, when Gabe is in one of his better cycles my husband goes through the whole, "there's nothing wrong with him, he's just an active Boy, and just immature for his age, I was the same exact way when I was a kid" and it makes me question myself and the dr.'s too. And then when the bad cycles start again, it's like whoa!!!! Where did this come from? I thought this was over with, I thought he had matured or whatever. I had no idea others experienced these cycles as well...That is such a relief! I think my husband has a difficult time admitting there is something different about Gabe, because it would mean admitting that there is something different about himself, and that he passed these challenges on to our son. Although knowing where he is coming from does help a little, it's still incredibly difficult not having his Full Time support. I have 2 daughters as well, 1 is almost 10 and the other almost 1 year. My eldest definitely has a hard time understanding all of this, though I try my best to make sure she never feels slighted for attention or my time. What do you do? Are there any therapies you have tried? I just started the elimination diet with my son yesterday, and I pray it helps him. He has a very difficult time with ibs and stomach cramping and I had no idea until yesterday that it's linked with Gluten and Casein intolerance and Autism. We received our diagnosis in January of 07 and it's been a roller coaster ride ever since. Trying to do what's right for Gabe, trying to convince my husband that Gabe needs to be treated differently when it comes to discipline etc...I know I'm babbling on and on now, I've just never had anyone to talk to that understands...GabesMom

It is a relief to me as well. I tried finding families locally and there were some, but their children were non-verbal and they were teenagers. Ever since Judson could get out of his crib he has been into everything. We got pregnant with our youngest child when Judson was only 6 months old and that was way before we knew anything was different about him. Judson was 8 weeks premature, and I tried forever to figure out how my son became autistic and there is just no way to really know. Was there anything that happened during your pregnancy or after that you think you could attribute to his PDD-NOS? Does your son attend public or private school? Our son started public school at age 3. He was also diagnosed with ADHD along with PDD-NOS. He is going into the 1st grade this coming school year. He did therapudic riding for 2 years. He sees an occupational therapist once a week and receives astronaut therapy(I think that is what it is called). He has some major sensory issues. He has a speech therapist and sees her once a week as well. We have not tried the elimination diet yet, but are considering it. Does your son sleep well? This is a major area of concern in our home. Judson has never slept well. It is like having a newborn who needs to be feed every 2-3 hours except instead of lasting a few months it has lasted for almost 7 years. We hope that things get better as he gets older, but I guess I have been reading too much because it sounds like sometimes it gets worse. Thank you for your post, it is comforting to be in a similar situation. Sometimes that is what really keeps me going. - Pam

Hi Pam,I'm not sure if you got it or not, but I sent you a private message with my e-mail address in it...I'm not on here everyday, but I check my e-mail daily, and would love to chat and stay in touch....It's so nice to have someone to talk to finally! I responded to your post in a very lengthy message, so see if you can open it. Johna

Hi, my nephew has been tested for Autism several times and they keep saying that it's not Autism. He displays several characteristics of an autistic child; he always has to have things in order, he doesn't like for people to love on or touch him and he has "meltdowns". During these "meltdowns" he throws himself on the floor and grunts. When he has one of these episodes he doesn't talk for about 3 hours. I noticed in your post that both of you mentioned "meltdowns" and was wondering if he had any of the same symptoms as your children. I am wondering if he may need to be diagnosed with PDD-NOS. I am just trying to help them figure out what is going on with him. Thanks for any information you can give me.